its very origin or its particular description—such as ransoming a vowed sacrifice by slaughtering a sheep in place of one’s child, or the circumcision that was commanded in the creed of Abraham, upon him be peace, and the like. That, however, is not the point under discussion.

As for the ḥadīth concerning ʿĀshūrāʾ, it is firmly established that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless and grant him peace) used to fast that day before ever asking the Jews about it, and that Quraysh also observed it. In the two Ṣaḥīḥs, al-Zuhrī narrates from ʿUrwah, from ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said:

“Quraysh used to fast the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ in the pre-Islamic era, and the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless and grant him peace) fasted it as well. When he emigrated to Madinah, he fasted it and ordered that it be fasted. Then, when Ramadan was made obligatory, he said: ‘Whoever wishes may fast it, and whoever wishes may leave it.’” In another wording: “It was a day on which the Kaʿbah was draped.”

The two Ṣaḥīḥs likewise transmit, through Hishām from his father, from ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that she said:

“The day of ʿĀshūrāʾ was fasted by Quraysh in the pre-Islamic period, and the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless and grant him peace) used to fast it in the pre-Islamic period as well. When he arrived in Madinah he fasted it and commanded that it be fasted; but once Ramadan was prescribed, he abandoned it …”